Monday, June 23, 2014

Good mroning readers.... Just wanted to share with you a couple of things going on in our house today. We decided at the beginning of the year we were going to actually redo the kitchen. It has been a long process of decisions (mainly for me) but after extreme thought, I have finally finalized the plans. And, I think finally finalized all the selections (fingers crossed no last minute changes.)

We started this weekend with the actual demolition of the kitchen. I have included some before and mid-progress pictures. I know I have a long road ahead with no sink / stove, but in the end, the result will be worth the wait.

Flooring and cabinets are up & out....

The cabinets are finished and are sitting in my first living room. I hope they all fit!!!

Wall down.

And lastly, my inspiration board. Not all items on here are correct, as I have made changes, but it is pretty close. More photos soon!!!

Friday, April 25, 2014

You know in the last post how I said old portraits were in recent interior publications? Well, I found a few for you to look at today. Please excuse the photo as it was taken by my iphone and is the Elle Decor page - hey, whatever works, right? Look at that foyer below - what a great way to be greeted. Not to mention, I love the used candles on the entry table. It sort of takes you back to that period. And, how unexpected to sit in the middle of the room, such a great play with space.

Art is becoming very popular in kitchen these days. With the absence of upper cabinets, its a great way to warm up a kitchen. However, that is a whole other post. Below, a collage of many old portraits probably with new ones mixed in as well, if I had to guess. You get the idea (small, large, oil, charcoal) any work for me.

Also, I promised some quick snap shots of my old portraits I have found and where they are hung in my home. I have an added bonus, too! My good friend Veronica is definitely on trend with hers. Again, please excuse my iPhone photos and lighting.

Ok... so this guy came from a house down the street. I was out walking my dogs and noticed a house under renovation. I knew the house had been empty for a while so was excited to see some movement around it. As I rounded the corner to pass the garage, I spotted it! It took me that walk and a couple drive bys later with my husband, to actually stop and ask for the contractor on the job. SOLD = $50.00. I probably could have gotten it for 25$, as the contractor didn't see the same value as I did. ;) I mean the frame alone I think is worth more than 50$. It's old guys and I am pretty obsessed with it.

Ok... so then I have this guy, too. He was my first old portrait. I found him at a flea market in Dothan, AL for $80.00. He is kind of pouty and looks like a butler, but I love him. I had to paint the frame to spruce it up a bit. I used a gold leaf paint from Hobby Lobby and am pleased with the final result.

Here is Veronica's portrait. After my post last week, she texted me a picture of hers. How awesome! I just love him. She actually found him 4 years ago in her husband's dad's storage unit. And, that frame is a gem too. Great find!

Random add on - but look at these glass tumblers from Ikea. I am in need of some casual glasses and want white ones. In my Google search, I stumbled upon these. $1.99 each. I want!!!

Tuesday, April 15, 2014

Currently on trend in homes, modern or traditional, are old portraits. Have you seen the look in your current interior publications? I personally love the look. Their faces just hold such a story, I think. I have always been one to prefer old rather than new, and love the mix of an aged, broken frame against a stark white wall in a space. A couple of photos for inspiration below. And, tomorrow a couple of old portraits I have recently found, purchased & hung in my home.

Thursday, July 18, 2013

So, as I have stated in the last post, we have recently purchased a home. And, with that home, came bookcases. I can't even begin to express my feelings about styling book cases..... TERRIBLE. I knew I had a task to tackle. It has taken me 10 weeks to complete these bookcases and the help of a dear friend. Thanks Kimber! :) However, they are done (.) I should have taken more before pictures but I am still working on the bottom half of the cabinet. My wonderful dad is making me new doors and I have ordered new hardware. I will post a final pic later but for an update, here you go......

Before.

After.

I first painted the back of the shelving walls. I used Sherwin Williams Sealskin. Next, I replaced the white painted shelving with yellow pine. I used 2" thick and sanded them down followed by a coat of lacquer. I needed to bring out the natural colors of the wood.

I also had to find an alternative for that awful, old laminate counter top. I couldn't pull it out due to the fact it would rip the top half of the cases out, so I opted to simply enclose them. I went with a birch plywood to cut the cost down. When going with plywood, I knew I would have to come up with a solution to hide the edge of plywood. So, I went to my go to...... metal strips. This time I chose an L-shaped piece to give a more finished look.

After all the switching out and replacing, I called in help from my dear friend to help with the styling. After an afternoon trip to Birmingham, we tackled the project. I added books from the thrift store at $0.75 a piece and simply sprayed them with white paint. With all the shelving and different objects, I had to create unity. And, painting books was the easiest way.

A final pic with new doors and hardware to follow. Please stay tuned for many more updates and the final product. Also, more to come on a bathroom renovation!!!

Monday, June 10, 2013

Hello ladies.... Long time no post, I know. Life has been busy as I am sure you all can understand and relate. With that being said, I wanted to share with you my husband & I have recently purchased a house which means a lot of redo-ing and renovating in the Branch household. Boy, living with tools can really test your patience, however I have to keep my eye on the prize - THE END! We are currently tackling the Master Bath & Bedroom, and then moving onto the kitchen. It needs a lot of work. More pictures later of those rooms & the improvements. In the meantime, I have been digging in my storage unit pulling out pieces of furniture I have bought of the years. I wanted to share with you some of my furniture "redo-ing."

I found these first 2 chairs for $30.00 a piece at a local thrift store in my hometown Enterprise, AL. The fabric came from a great inexpensive fabric store in Tuscaloosa, AL - $2, $4, $6, $8 fabrics. Yes, all fabrics are 2 dollars, 4 dollars, 6 dollars, or 8 dollars!!! I also found this great recovering business in Tuscaloosa who recovered them for a wonderful price of $175.00 a piece. Not bad right? And, they pick up and deliver, such a perk!

Before

After

After

Next is this settee.... I found this gem 3 years ago outside of Mobile, AL at a little shop on the side of the road. It has hurt my eyes the past couple of years but wanted to have a permanent home for it before it got a makeover. I purchased the settee for $100. 00 and chose a fabric from $2, $4, $6, $8 fabrics. I believe this one was $4.00 a yard. It was a remnant piece.

The $4.00 fabric

Before

After

And, lastly these headboards... I found these sitting in my
father-in-laws attic and saw good bones so decided to bring them down
for a face lift. I chose a navy vinyl (it looks like leather) as that
was the look I was going for but didn't want to spend the $ for real
leather. Again, the fabric was purchased from $2, $4, $6, $8 fabrics in
Tuscaloosa, AL.

Before

After

Please excuse the background mess in these pictures as nothing is in its home. More pictures and posts to come on the final product and renovations!!!

Thursday, April 11, 2013

Maybe it's the warm weather or seeing all the luscious gardens on pinterest. But I definitely am getting the green thumb itch, just a little. I would love to know how to garden and how to keep it up. I cannot bear the weather in the dead of the summer, but right now it is so nice out! I am wishing I knew how to "tend" to my yard a little better. In the meantime it's nice to see great inspiration to get me going....

Friday, April 5, 2013

Today I am sharing the recent party I threw for my son's first birthday party. Let me start by saying it is no where near the quality of all these detailed parties I have seen floating all over pinterest and the blogs. Props to everyone who has thrown one of those parties...my hat is off to you!

I'm starting off by showing you the inspiration I gathered from pinterest (of course, well else?). I started out thinking it was going to be giraffe themed but then saw this invitation from paperless post here and just had to go in this direction! So hence, the party hat/ face theme evolved. The colors were just blues and greens. I created and made the invitations, party hats, and banner myself. Of course they are available to purchase, my new website www.katechambers.com is in the works, but you can email me at kateKchambers@gmail.com for pricing and designs. You can go to my pinterest board here of all the party ideas I pinned pin-worthy for our event.

The invitation

The food table

Everything from the party went swell except for the birthday cake time! He did not want to quit playing to sit in highchair and did not know what to think of that cake!

So we screamed and didn't touch the smash cake! OH Well....maybe next year!

Sweet girls trying to help- "claude it's ok, look at your cake!"

I literally Laugh Out Loud, everytime I see this picture! They had the best time playing dress up and worn them throughout the party, playing, eating, etc. These three in general are a mess and I just adore them!

I have to share the details about these tables and chairs. I found these chairs at Tuesday morning for $3.99 a piece! The chairs are plastic and stack on top of each other. And the tables are actually parsons coffee tables from Dollar General for only $25.00. The legs just screw off and you can store it so easily. I think I am going to purchase one more just to have for future parties and paint them all white. I bought some pink chairs too to add color mix. My friend borrowed them for her easter egg hunt party. These are going to be one of the best investments, I can see myself using these so much!

I know you have seen this idea all over pinterest here too! I had to copy this idea, too cute! Sorry for the poor image quality here.

Here we go again...mad. Did not want to slow down for a picture and to wear that darn hat again! Tissue garland was purchased through etsy and is available here. You can customize your color selection and it was pretty fast! I have it hanging in his playroom right now.

Had to include this...just because it was my favorite picture of the day! :)